URC Playoffs 2024 Quarterfinals Schedule And Matches. Here's What To Know
URC Playoffs 2024 Quarterfinals Schedule And Matches. Here's What To Know
Leinster vs. Ulster and Glasgow Warriors vs. DHl Stormers are two of the marque matches during the URC quarterfinals on June 7-8.
The road to the United Rugby Championship Grand Final began in October 2023 but the final stretch starts in June 2024.
The 16 URC teams have been cut in half as the URC playoffs begin June 7 in Ireland, Scotland and South Africa.
The eight teams include three Irish Rugby clubs, two South African clubs, and clubs from Wales, Scotland and Italy. In other words, all of the URC Shields are represented in the 2024 URC Playoffs, which wasn’t the case a year ago when the Italian clubs were shutout.
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Defending URC champion Munster Rugby finished atop of the table with a 13-1-4 record, beating out the Vodacom Bulls 68 points to 66.
Looming in third is Leinster Rugby, fresh off a Investec Champions Cup Final loss to Toulouse, who won’t be navigating two knockout rounds at the same time like 2023. But they will be hosting their rivals from Belfast in the first round. Meanwhile, Glasgow might be home to the best match of the first weekend.
Here is what to know about the four quarterfinal matches.
Munster Rugby Vs. Ospreys, 2:35 p.m. On June 7, Thomond Park
Munster hosts the Ospreys, who narrowly beat out the Emirates Lions to advance to the quarterfinals. They are the only Welsh team in the knockout stage and went 10-0-8 in the regular season.
For Munster, the 13-1-4 season comes on the heels of its fourth championship in the domestic league that is currently known as the URC. Munster beat the defending champion DHL Stormers in the Grand Final in 2023.
The last back-to-back champion in the league came when Leinster won four-straight titles from 2018 to 2021. Munster’s bitter rival from Dublin is the only club to have won consecutive titles.
The Ospreys are no strangers to URC success. They have four titles but none since 2012. In 2005, the Ospreys beat Munster in the Grand Final.
Munster has four titles and enters the knockout stage as the table leader for the fourth time.
Vodacom Bulls Vs. Benetton, 9:30 a.m. On June 8, Loftus Versfeld
Benetton was the story of the early part of the United Rugby Championship season as the club was near the top of the table. They finished the season in seventh but were four points above the eighth-place club.
Benetton’s reward for representing Italy in the knockout stage, and qualifying for the Champions Cup next season, is a trip to Pretoria, South Africa to face the second-place Bulls.
The Bulls went 13-0-5 and finished two points behind Munster Rugby in the table and are trying to become the fourth South African team to reach the Grand Final in three years.
Benetton went 11-1-6 this season, a three-win improvement from last season. The club won the 2021 Pro14 Rainbow Cup.
No team from Italy has ever advanced to the Grand Final, meanwhile the Bulls reached the Grand Final in 2022, losing to the DHL Stormers 18-13.
Leinster Rugby Vs. Ulster, Noon On June 8, Aviva Stadium
Possibly the game of the weekend takes place in Dublin, Ireland.
Leinster hosts fellow Ireland Rugby club Ulster. Leinster’s streak of four straight years finishing atop of the table was halted this season. With 19 players on the club missing the early part of the schedule due to the 2023 Rugby World Cup, Leinster got off to a slow start that included a 43-25 loss to Glasgow.
But when the bulk of the players returned, along with assistant coach Jacques Nienaber (who joined the team just before Christmas after coaching South Africa to the World Cup title), Leinster reverted to its winning ways.
The club reached the Investec Champions Cup Final for the third year in a row after going undefeated in pool play. But they again didn’t win the Champions Cup.
Last year, the URC and Champions Cup knockout stages were running at the same time, which impacted Leinster lineups. That’s not the case in 2024 as Leinster will likely be playing its best players in every knockout match.
So will Ulster.
This will be the first and only time Steven Kitshoff plays for Ulster in the quarterfinals. The No. 1 player in the URC according to the URC is headed back to the DHL Stormers next season, but the prop is expected to be in the match.
Ulster finished 11-0-7 with 54 points in the table and actually finished above Munster in the Irish Shield. With a 4-0-2 record. Leinster won the Irish Shield with the same record but with two more points and went 13-0-5, finishing one point behind the Vodacom Bulls in the table.
The match is being played at Aviva Stadium in what should be in front of a massive crown between the club teams from Dublin and Belfast.
Glasgow Warriors Vs. DHL Stormers, 2:35 p.m. On June 8, Scotstoun Stadium
The importance of finishing fourth and not fifth was massive in this showdown.
For starters, Glasgow has been one of the most dominant rugby teams in the world when playing in Scotland. And secondly, it means it was the DHL Stormers having to do the traveling, which has become one of the biggest advantages, and disadvantages, in the URC since the South African Shield joined the league.
The Stormers won the URC Grand Final two years ago and have played in the last two. But they have found life without star Steven Kitshoff difficult, which is why they are bringing him back next season.
Glasgow finished six points ahead of the Stormers on the table, 65 to 59, with a 13-0-5 record. The Stormers, also were impacted by the 2023 Rugby World Cup, finished 12-0-6 in URC play and nearly eliminated La Rochelle from the Champions Cup in the Round of 16.
Glasgow has had one of the best records in the URC over the last two years at home and went 11-1 at Scotstoun in Champions Cup and URC play since the start of the 2023-2024.
One of those wins was a 20-9 win over the Stormers.
How To Watch The URC Playoffs 2024
The URC Playoffs are streaming in the United States and Canada on FloRugby and the FloSports app. Match replays, highlights and more will be on both platforms.
When Are The United Rugby Championship Semifinals?
The URC Semifinals are June 15.
When Is The United Rugby Championship Grand Final?
The Grand Final is Saturday, June 22.
URC Table: Here's The Final Rugby Standings
| URC Clubs | PL | W | D | L | BP | PF | PA | DIFF | PTS | |
| 1 | MUNSTER RUGBY | 18 | 13 | 1 | 4 | 14 | 483 | 318 | 165 | 68 |
| 2 | VODACOM BULLS | 18 | 13 | 0 | 5 | 14 | 639 | 433 | 206 | 66 |
| 3 | LEINSTER RUGBY | 18 | 13 | 0 | 5 | 13 | 554 | 350 | 204 | 65 |
| 4 | GLASGOW WARRIORS | 18 | 13 | 0 | 5 | 13 | 519 | 353 | 166 | 65 |
| 5 | DHL STORMERS | 18 | 12 | 0 | 6 | 11 | 468 | 348 | 120 | 59 |
| 6 | ULSTER RUGBY | 18 | 11 | 0 | 7 | 10 | 437 | 409 | 28 | 54 |
| 7 | BENETTON RUGBY | 18 | 11 | 1 | 6 | 8 | 411 | 400 | 11 | 54 |
| 8 | OSPREYS | 18 | 10 | 0 | 8 | 10 | 414 | 449 | -35 | 50 |
| 9 | EMIRATES LIONS | 18 | 9 | 0 | 9 | 14 | 526 | 398 | 128 | 50 |
| 10 | EDINBURGH RUGBY | 18 | 11 | 0 | 7 | 5 | 416 | 397 | 19 | 49 |
| 11 | CONNACHT RUGBY | 18 | 9 | 0 | 9 | 9 | 404 | 432 | -28 | 45 |
| 12 | CARDIFF RUGBY | 18 | 4 | 1 | 13 | 14 | 389 | 414 | -25 | 32 |
| 13 | SCARLETS | 18 | 5 | 0 | 13 | 7 | 313 | 575 | -262 | 27 |
| 14 | HOLLYWOODBETS SHARKS | 18 | 4 | 0 | 14 | 9 | 343 | 431 | -88 | 25 |
| 15 | DRAGONS RFC | 18 | 3 | 0 | 15 | 4 | 300 | 611 | -311 | 16 |
| 16 | ZEBRE PARMA | 18 | 1 | 1 | 16 | 9 | 345 | 643 | -298 | 15 |
How To Watch Rugby Matches In the United States On FloRugby
The URC will stream all its matches on FloRugby and the FloSports app in the United States. FloRugby and FloSports also are the U.S. home to:
FloRugby also is home to match archives and match replays.